The invention relates to a golf ball teeing up device, and more particularly, to an automatic golf ball teeing up device for teeing up a golf ball so that the golfer does not have to bend over and tee the ball after each swing.
Golfing is a pastime enjoyed by many Americans. Whether it is playing golf competitively or just for leisure, Americans continue to invest much time, energy, and money into joining golf clubs, taking golf lessons, and practicing their swing at driving ranges. Golfing offers its players the advantage of moderate exercise, while spending time outdoors enjoying beautifully groomed courses. In addition, swinging the many different clubs, carrying the bag of golf clubs, and walking the golf course also provide players with moderate levels of physical fitness. Many avid golfers enjoy spending time at driving ranges where they can practice their swing over and over again. At such facilities, a player usually purchases a bucket of golf balls and hits them one at a time off of the tee into a large fenced-in landscape. In between each swing, the golfer must bend over, retrieve another golf ball, and properly set it on the tee. This action causes the golfer to move their feet and take their hands off of the golf club, and for each swing the golfer must then re-grip their club and readjust their stance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,664 to Provost discloses a golf ball teeing-up apparatus that has a detector underneath the tee for detecting the presence of a golf ball on the tee to tee-up another golf ball when needed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,148 to Elder, Jr. discloses a mechanism for automatically teeing practice golf balls, using a manually operated switch which causes the teeing mechanism to retract and receive another golf ball. U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,033 to Doherty discloses a golf ball teeing-up device that has a control switch that is manually tapped by a golf club sole to initiate the teeing-up.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not to be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.